A Comprehensive List of Soft Skills All Employers Are Looking For

Posted on 08/08/2018

Do you want to advance in your workplace? Are you attempting to take on a managerial position? Ready to climb the ladder and do something with more responsibility?

Then you've already got some of the soft skills employees are looking for. Integrity, determination, and work ethic, to name a few.

When writing a resume, it's easy to feel like the most important thing is how many certifications you have. Or years of experience. Or volunteer work in college.

All that is important. But soft skills, or interpersonal skills, are just as important in business. Soft skills give you the ability to communicate and work well with your team. Self-motivation encourages you to show up on time, be flexible, and make compromises. Are you ready to wow your recruiter with your empathy and positivity?

Look no further. Here's a list of soft skills that could be game-changing for your career.

First Things First: What Are Soft Skills?

Before you determine whether you have these skills, let's cover what they are.

Soft skills are personal attributes and personality traits that allow you to communicate. These are harder to gauge than the "harder skills," which focus on education and job training. Soft skills are something that show themselves in hard situations or in times of flux.

What is your emotional capacity? How do you interact with others? Are you a compassionate listener and a concise speaker?

Then you've got some soft skills worth flexing.

A List of Soft Skills to Put on Your Resume

What specific interpersonal skills are employers looking for in their employees?

A Strong Work Ethic

A Positive Attitude

A Healthy Demeanor

The Ability to Adapt and Change/Grow

A Good Listener

A Succinct Speaker

Good Time Management

Ability to Accept Constructive Criticism

A Team Player

A High Emotional Intelligence (I.E., Checking Emotions at the Door)

Reliability

Ability to Compromise

Confidence

You get the gist. Soft skills allow you to interact with people in the smartest way possible. Soft skills can be learned, but most times, they are intuitive.

Employers care about soft skills.

Chances are, you'll be interacting with clients and other employees at some point. Your attitude is a direct message of the company you work for. A person with all the hard skills in the world and a huge chip on their shoulder won't fare as well.

What Are You Waiting For?

If you have any of these skills, put them on your resume! Make sure to highlight your skills as well as times when you've had to use them in the workplace environment.

Are you an excellent leader? Then discuss a scenario where your leadership skills shined. Be specific.

Are you the queen or king of multitasking? Highlight the different projects you took part in. How did you meet deadlines with such a heavy load?

Employers need more than a robot with an awesome set of hard skills. They need human beings with soft skills.

If you're a grad student with a lack of hard skills, don't fret. Show off your admirable list of soft skills. Those can't be taught in the same way hard skills can.